Sven O. Krumke studied Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Würzburg, Germany. In June 1994, he received his master's degree in mathematics (Diplom-Mathematiker) from the University of Würzburg.

From 1992 til 1993 he spent one year in the US as an exchange student in the Computer Science Department of the State University of New York at Albany, partly supported by a grant from the German-American Fulbright Commission.

From July 1994 till March 1998 Sven O. Krumke was employed as a research assistant at the Lehrstuhl fuer Informatik I in the Computer Science Department of the University of Würzburg. He received his Ph.D. (Dr.rer.nat.) from Würzburg in April 1997.

From 1998-2004 Sven O. Krumke was a research assistant in the Department of Optimization at the Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik Berlin (short ZIB).

In 2002 Sven O. Krumke received his 'Habilitation' at Technical University of Berlin and in 2004 he became full professor at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Kaiserslautern.